The weather will soon start to get cooler in our area of North Texas, and we all know how the weather changes from hour to hour and day to night. Here in Southlake, it’s a good idea to start gathering the materials needed to insulate the plumbing pipes and fixtures before the temperatures suddenly drop below freezing so that we can avoid any surprise plumbing repairs in the middle of the night.
The busiest time of year will soon be upon us. The last thing we need is to deal with emergency plumbing repairs during a holiday party or over a weekend. As a professional Southlake plumber, our pros at Watermark Plumbing want to give you a few tips on winterizing your plumbing pipes so that you and your family don’t have to worry about dealing with emergency plumbing repairs.
Covering your pipes with good insulation isn’t all you need to do to ensure your pipes or fixtures don’t freeze. They need to be covered properly so that there’s no chance for moisture to get behind the insulation of your wrapping. Once moisture and air is allowed in behind the insulation, it will freeze your pipes, making it as if the pipes or faucets weren’t wrapped at all.
Be sure your insulation is properly sealed with no way for air or moisture to infiltrate the wrapping. If properly done according to the insulation package instructions, you shouldn’t have any issues with frozen pipes.
Sprinkler systems and water faucets outdoors also need to be wrapped up tight against the coming freezing temperatures. All exposed plumbing outdoors should be wrapped well. This can include any water well plumbing, pumps, or other such plumbing equipment and piping systems.
Many homes also have a storage closet, laundry area, or garage where the hot water tank is stored. These are vulnerable areas for frozen pipes if they aren’t heated by your home’s heater, which many are not. Even if it seems your garage or storage area doesn’t get that cold, you shouldn’t risk the chance if the area isn’t heated. The last thing you want is to deal with leaks or frozen pipes in a cold room in the middle of freezing weather.
The hot water heater tank itself will greatly benefit from insulation wrapping whether your tank is located in a heated area of your home or not. Insulating your hot water heater tank will keep the heated water warmer which means your water heater tank won’t have to cycle on as much.
Keeping your plumbing pipes, fixtures, and other areas wrapped tight will hopefully keep them impervious to moisture so they won’t freeze. If you have trouble or if you’d rather have a professional plumber take care of your pipe wrapping rather than calling them for plumbing repairs, just give our experts at Watermark Plumbing a call.